Legacy of Hope Foundation hosting Winnipeg Regional Sessions for the Waniskahtan Project on Missing, Murdered, Indigenous Women, and 2SLGBTQ+

(Ottawa, ON) June 2, 2020 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF), in partnership with KAIROS, is pleased to announce the release of Ravens: Messengers of Change a resource designed to create awareness and action for Reconciliation in Canada. This resource includes an activity, called ‘Building a Tree of Reconciliation’ which works by engaging groups with information and concepts about Indigenous Peoples and then applying this information to create new understandings that empower people to take informed action for Reconciliation. The activity can be used with participants as young as elementary students up to, and including, adults. It can be a tool for the classrooms in school settings, community groups, offices, and with anyone who shares a desire to learn more and pursue thoughtful action towards achieving Reconciliation.

This Activity grew out of a need to build on the KAIROS Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is an experiential exercise in learning about Indigenous histories, experiences with colonization acts of oppression, as well as Indigenous resilience and strength in overcoming and being able to maintain and/or reclaim their identities, cultures, language and knowledge despite the genocide. Typically, participants in the Blanket Exercise are powerfully moved by the learning experience. Teresa Edwards, Executive Director and In-House Counsel at the LHF said, “Completing this Activity takes participants up to the present day and emphasizes the need for informed action for Reconciliation. ‘Building a Tree of Reconciliation,’ was developed to help participants take responsibility for their learning and desire to improve the current situation.”

Participants in the ‘Building a Tree of Reconciliation’ Activity will learn more about Indigenous philosophies and about living a life of balance and harmony. They will be introduced to a framework of action or commitment one can take based on Indigenous realities, and based on their knowledge and comfort levels. Concrete examples are provided drawn from the TRC 94 Calls to Action to help foster action that can lead to positive change in Canada.

If people have not completed the KAIROS Blanket Exercise previously, this Activity can still be used as a standalone along with many of LHF’s tools. Facilitators will find helpful information, appendix resources, curriculum and ideas that can be adapted to participants of varying ages and knowledge levels. For more information or a copy of this Activity, please see legacyofhope.ca/education and www.kairosblanketexercise.org/

The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for 20 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential School System, Sixties Scoop, and Day Schools on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities in order to support their healing and to foster Reconciliation in Canada. For more information on the LHF and its exhibitions, research reports, curricula, including resources for educators, visit the Legacy of Hope Foundation website at www.legacyofhope.ca

For media inquiries:
Teresa Edwards, B.A. JD.
Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel
Legacy of Hope Foundation
Phone:  613-237-4806 Ext. 303 info@legacyofhope.ca